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Mapping a future with less red tape

I'M A town planner in Newcastle and I was driving to my local council for a meeting. On the radio the Reserve Bank boss was calling for a lift in our national productivity.

I had asked the council for details of past approvals on a property I was investigating and after lodging some paperwork was advised I could inspect the file and get copies of relevant documents. All went well until I asked for a copy of a 20-year-old building plan. I was told it was protected by copyright and that I would need the building designer's permission before council could give me a copy.

With a deep sigh I took the details of the company that prepared the plans, hoping they still exist and were compos mentis. I then asked if the site was mapped as bushfire-prone land in their mapping system.

The bright young thing on the counter uploaded the relevant plan on her computer screen to confirm it was bushfire prone. I asked if she could email the map to me, to save me struggling through the council's impenetrable website. She smiled and advised that the maps were under copyright to the Rural Fire Service and so she could not provide a copy - even though anyone with a masters in understanding council websites could download their own copy of the plan. This is patently ridiculous - as if the RFS would want to prevent council from promoting their bushfire mapping - common sense says they would welcome it!

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Once back in the office I called the company that designed the building 20 years ago. The company owner said that many councils take a similar position regarding copies of plans. They agreed to give me permission, but pointed out that they are not, technically, the same company as the one 20 years ago. They have a similar name and occupy the same premises, but technically they are not the owners of the copyright. We lodged the permission letter and hoped council would not notice. Fortunately they didn't - this time.

Of course, there are so many questions that should arise from this infuriating situation. What if the company did not exist any more? Are plans prepared by a now defunct company still subject to copyright anyway? Why would the RFS - a state government authority - claim copyright over such information? Couldn't the RFS issue a general directive to all councils that it is OK to forward copies of their maps?

Which brings me to the issue of productivity. Could we not tackle some of the structural impediments to increasing productivity, such as our archaic copyright legislation, to begin with? Who do I talk to - the RBA boss, maybe?

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